The Five Signs That You're in Love
by if-x-you-x-knew
Summary: ...and the one sign that she loves you, too.
1. The First Sign

_**I saw this set of amazing prompts (originally for Clace) on Tumblr and I couldn't stop applying it to Adrienette. This wonderful little set of prompts was created by Tumblr user "clacedaily".**_

 _ **This will have six chapters (maybe seven, if you guys want an epilogue) all of them correspond but could be read as one-shots as well.**_

x-x-x

 _ **The Five Signs That You're in Love**_

 _ **The First Sign**_

 _ **FIRST:**_ _ **she touches you and you light on fire. Your wrist blazes where her fingers meet your skin. The burns don't show, but it's hard to breathe with ash in your lungs. It's so hard to breathe. You're suffocating daily.**_

x-x-x

 _ **Chapter Summary:**_

 _ **Pre- unmasking, Marichat. Chat decides to pay Marinette a visit after his patrol and just so happens to catch her while she is working on another project. Despite her warning to "not touch" he touches. And she has to take matters into her own hands. Literally.**_

x-x-x

Adrien was late.

Granted, he wasn't _that_ late. Five minutes. But his father and tight schedule had proven five minutes to be almost pivotal in the modeling industry. Still, Adrien dreaded being late, especially tonight. Tonight, Adrien was planning on visiting Marinette. And five minutes late meant five minutes less with his princess.

It wouldn't be the first time she encountered his alter-ego. And if he had any say in the matter, this would not be the last. Despite his undying love for his lady, Marinette was gradually stealing his heart. She was so different around Chat. With Adrien, she could hardly utter a coherent sentence. She was his blushing, bumbling, adorable classmate. But around Chat, it was like she was an entirely different person.

She was sassy and quick on her feet; she reminded him of Ladybug, in a way.

He reached her family bakery in a matter of minutes. The light in her room was on, the yellow, artificial light glowing dimly against the midnight Paris sky. Chat smiled. She was awake.

He gracefully launched himself on the landing of her balcony and turned his head to see his beautiful Princess, sat in her desk chair, hunched over her sewing machine; her brow was adorably furrowed in concentration, a half-dressed mannequin sat dormant beside her.

He raised his hand to tap on the glass, his smile widening when her head snapped in his direction.

"Chat?" she whispered upon opening the sliding door of her balcony. "What are you doing here at this hour?" she glanced at the clock. A bright red 12:48am blinked back at her.

He smiled. "I can't visit my princess when I please?" she blushed, looking behind him. "What're you making?" he purred, addressing the mannequin. Over it was draped what looked like the bodice of a dress. It was red, like Ladybugs suit, with a black band draping across the entire tight-fitting bodice, acting as a one shoulder strap. He could tell when she finished it would look stunning. Especially on her.

"Just a dress, I need one for a wedding I'm going to." Her voice was soft, he suspected it was because she was trying not to wake her parents.

"Well, it's beautiful," he admired as he wandered towards the mannequin. Upon standing directly in front of the dress, Chat bent over slightly, inspecting the fabric in front of him. It looked as soft as he suspected Marinette's hair to feel.

As he reached his hand out to touch the black band caressing the rest of the dress, Marinette was suddenly stood beside the mannequin, a pointed look on her face.

"No touching. It's not near finished and I don't need a certain kitty tearing it apart before it's even complete." She scolded. But her words were not enough to stop him from slowly raising his hand towards the fabric again. This time, though, she most certainly made him stop.

Her hand was wrapped around his gloved wrist, their gazes locked. Her eyes dared him to try again. But he was no longer focused on the unfinished dress he was so persistent to touch just moments before.

Instead, his eyes trailed to her hand wrapped around his wrist. Her touch was electrocuting. It burned through the sleeve of his suit and set fire to his insides. She made it impossible to breathe. Her skin was soft, much softer than he had anticipated; and her hand was small against his larger, covered wrist, her fingers barely clutching around half of it. His breath caught in his throat, the fire radiating from her touch didn't seem like it would be subsiding any time soon.

But maybe he didn't want it to.

Maybe the fire, no matter how burnt it would leave him, made him feel less hurt and more _alive._ Maybe that's what Marinette did to him. Maybe he didn't want her to let go. Maybe he enjoyed burning if it was Marinette who ignited the fame.

His trance was broken when Marinette blushed, and pulled her hand away. She rubbed her hand slowly, suddenly very interested in his boots. Maybe she felt the flame as well.

"I told you not to touch," her voice was weak, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her small frame in his arms. She sighed, raising her eyes to his once more. He cheeks were still flushes with embarrassment and she continued to rub her hand.

Adrien couldn't breathe. His wrist still felt as though it was set aflame and he checked to see if her touch actually left a burn, but the only thing that adorned his wrist was the hem of a leather glove. It felt as though the fire she set on his wrist was rapidly spreading throughout his entire body. No one's touch had ever had this affect him; except his lady.

His breathing was shallow as no matter how hard he tried to breathe, it felt as though there was ash in his lungs, scratching against his insides, burning him alive.

"Sorry princess, I couldn't help myself." he whispered, suddenly very aware of the space, or rather, the lack of space between them. He could feel her hot breath brush against his face as they stared into each other's eyes. Adrien didn't know why, but he felt compelled to tug the ribbons out of her hair. Now that he thought about it, he had never actually seen Marinette with her hair down.

Without another thought, his hands seemed to be moving towards her face. He wrapped his hand around the end of one of her hair-ties, drawing an adorable squeak from her, and gently tugged; allowing her hair to fall around her shoulders. With a quick tug on the other bundle, her hair was resting just below her shoulders, framing her face perfectly. Now that he had seen her with her hair down, he never wanted her to put it up again.

Adrien's breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful.

The entire time her gaze was glued on his eyes, staring at him with her beautiful, dark blue eyes that bore holes within his soul. It felt as though she was staring beyond the suit, and suddenly he wanted to confine in her all of his secrets.

He smirked, a classic Chat smile to mask the fact that he was still burning inside. His hand rose again and this time, started just above her ear, and ran completely through the length of her hair. She drew a shaking breath and closed her eyes, leaning into his gloved hand.

His smirk grew into a smile as he let out a breathy laugh.

Her eyes were still shut, her lashes casting shadows over her cheeks. He felt the weight of her small hand atop of his and the fire within him that was finally dulling down glowed even brighter than before.

Her touch, even through his gloves, still made him burn.

He couldn't breathe, she took his breath away. He was suffocating. But strangely, he never wanted her to pull away. He would gladly suffocate if it meant he could stay here a little longer, with her.

x-x-x

 _ **And that was chapter 1/6.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please do review if you did. Or if you didn't.**_

 _ **Now, even though this chapter was Marichat, future chapters will be either Adrienette or Ladynoir depending on the prompt.**_

 _ **Also, a future chapter will be the famous unmasking aka reveal in which these two lovely nerds finally discover the truth about the identity of their crime fighting partner.**_

 _ **I do not own the characters or the Miraculous Ladybug franchise, however, the content of this page belongs to user if-x-you-x-knew.**_


	2. The Second Sign

_**First and foremost, thank you so very much for the positive response to the first chapter. The amount of support I received was amazingly gratifying.**_

 _ **I wanted to clear up something quickly, the six chapters will all correspond, so they all happen in the same world, and it will all be sequential. However, they could each be read as one-shots.**_

x-x-x

 _ **The Five Signs That You're in Love**_

 _ **The Second Sign**_

 _ **SECOND**_ : _**it hurts to watch her. She shines. She's brighter than the sun. She's too beautiful for your eyes. It's hard to look at her. It's even harder to look away**_ _**from her. You're going blind.**_

x-x-x

 _ **Chapter Summary:**_

 _ **Pre- unmasking, Ladynoir. Chat watches Ladybug watch over Paris as the sun sets and can't help but bask in her beauty.**_

x-x-x

Adrien had never considered himself a hopeless romantic.

Honestly, before he had met Ladybug, he would have never considered himself a romantic at all.

But that's just what she did to him. She made him question everything he had ever known. She made him want to be better. Like the Adrien Agreste that he had always been was just someone he was pretending to be. She made him want to be the best version of Adrien Agreste he could possibly be.

It was a warm Paris evening, and he and Ladybug were on their daily patrol of the city. Ladybug was stood atop of a building with Chat seated on the asphalt behind her, looking over the purple and orange sunset that stretched over the sky. Her hair swept to the right with the spring breeze and Chat longed to reach out and run his fingers through it.

Maybe it would be as soft and Mariette's.

The setting sun cast an orange-red glow over her figure and Chat found he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

She was beautiful.

She was standing with her head high, in the direction of the orange, purple and red painting the entire sky. One of her hands was on her hip, while the other lazily twirled her yoyo around her finger.

He smiled. Even from behind, she was so beautiful.

She turned suddenly, her eyes trailed down his lounging figure. "What are you doing?" she said fondly, a hint of amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"Admiring this _purrrrr_ -fect sunset, that's all." Chat winked at her now unamused face.

"Might I ask why you've decided to subject me to your awful puns?" She muttered, turning back to the bright and colourful sun set.

"You love it." Was all he supplied. She scoffed.

Not for the first time tonight, Chat found himself staring at her perfect figure, glowing even brighter than the lovely sun set that adorned the Paris sky. It was almost hard to look at her. If he was the moon, she was the sun, shining brighter and longer, he strongly believed that the only fact people found him so compelling was because her light shined bright enough for the both of them.

It was becoming _very_ hard to look at her. It was even harder to look away.

She shone so bright, if he kept looking at her, he was sure he would go blind.

He didn't look away.

Her earrings rang out into the air, signaling her transformation was about to drop. To be fair, the Akuma they faced this morning had also taken a fair toll on Plagg.

"Looks like our time together is over, M'lady," Chat jumped to his feet as she turned to look at him with those beautiful, blue eyes. He raised her hand in his, and bowed his head to place a soft kiss to her covered hand.

"For today," she specified. She pulled her hand away, and with a final look, which Chat couldn't help but get lost in, she cast her yo yo around a nearby building, and was gone.

Chat watched helplessly as the love of his life swung gracefully around the buildings of Paris, and even when she was out of sight, he still felt her presence on the building with him.

She was just too beautiful for words to describe.

x-x-x

Adrien was confused.

He was in love with Ladybug. She was everything he could have ever wanted. And, yet, Marinette was rapidly stealing his heart.

He groaned, smacking his head against his desk.

"Oi! What's with the noise?" Plagg complained, appearing at his side. Adrien didn't look up.

"I'm so confused." Adrien's voice was muffled buy the surface of his desk.

"Wonderful." Plagg answered sarcastically. "Can you be confused a little quieter please?" Plagg complained. "It's been a long day." He flopped down beside Adrien dramatically. Adrien lifted his head.

"I love Ladybug. I've loved her for forever. How could I possible be confused about how I feel?" He questioned, exasperatedly.

"I don't know. You're so dramatic, kid. _'Oh I love Ladybug; oh I love Marinette, oh why must I be cursed with loving two amazing girls? oh why, why, why?'_ " Plagg mocked. "Honestly I think you're reading too much into this." With that, Plagg flopped onto his belly and was asleep instantaneously.

And Plagg accused _him_ for being dramatic. Honestly.

Adrien groaned again, recoiling from two things: the cheese stench coming from his Kawami, and the less than helpful advice he was just given.

Adrien sighed. He honestly didn't know what to feel anymore.

One thing was certain, though. He was falling in love. With whom he didn't know.

All he knew was he was falling. And he had no intention of standing back up.

x-x-x

 _ **Sorry this one was so short. I wasn't planning on it being**_ _ **quite**_ _ **this short, but I hope you liked it regardless.**_

 _ **The next chapter is one I think you'll really like. It's the famous unmasking scene that, let's be honest, we all love.**_

 _ **Please review if you enjoyed. Or if you didn't.**_

 _ **I do not own the characters or the Miraculous Ladybug franchise, however, the content of this page belongs to user if-x-you-x-knew.**_


	3. The Third Sign

_**I just realized that I never mentioned that in this fic, the characters have been aged up. Not dramatically, but 2 or so years. Only because I feel as though the relationship between the two (or four?) characters would better fit the story if they had a couple of years to become really close.**_

x-x-x

 _ **The Five Signs That You're in Love**_

 _ **The Third Sign**_

 _ **THIRD**_ _ **: your ears are turned to her voice. You could pick her out in a sea of thousands. Her voice makes pretty singers who sing pretty songs sound dull. Her voice makes everything else sound ugly.**_

x-x-x

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **The reveal aka unmasking, Adrien can "pick her out of a crowd of thousands" and puts two and two together because Ladybug sounds, surprisingly, a lot like Marinette when she sings.**_

x-x-x

Marinette had a secret.

Okay, maybe that made it sound a little more dramatic than it actually was. But there was something about her that no one, save her parents and Alya knew. Marinette could sing. Not only could she sing, but she was actually pretty good. The time she had that wasn't committed to homework or saving Paris was dedicated to writing original melodies.

And she may have just finished writing her latest song.

And she may regret telling Alya that after school.

Her best friend's squeal echoed on the walls of the vacant music classroom. There was a piano in the corner of the room and plenty of guitars hung from the rack that lined the top of the room. The room was three doors down from the classroom that they occupied before the bell had rung an hour ago, dismissing them for the day.

Marinette and Alya decided to stay for a while, to "have a personal talk" as Alya put it.

"Let me hear it!" she practically screamed at her friend.

"I'll let you hear it if you promise me to never make that sound again." Marinette agreed.

"Deal."

Marinette sighed, and tentatively retrieved a guitar from the rack; she swung the strap around her person and played the first notes.

x-x-x

Adrien had never been more grateful for the end of the school day.

His schedule had been completely cluttered over the last couple of days with photoshoots and fittings, and this afternoon was the first time this week that he had to himself. So naturally, Adrien had spent the last hour talking to Nino in the classroom before his friend had to leave. Of course, he had always made time for his nightly patrols (and to see his princess) but he considered seeing his lady and his princess as better than any break.

That was another thing beside his modeling duties that seemed to occupy his time.

His feelings for his lady were no secret; in fact they had just become more apparent over the years. However, his princess seemed to be stealing his heart. His head was confused, his heart even more so. Was I possible to be in love with two people at the same time? Was what he felt wrong? If so, what exactly was wrong with him?

As he sauntered towards the front doors of the school – for the first time that he could remember there was no car waiting to take him to his next hectic event – he paused as a squeal echoed among the vacant halls. That was odd. On a Friday, Adrien expected to be the last on in the school.

Now he was curious.

He turned towards the source of the noise – the music room – and without a second thought, wandered towards the slightly ajar door. When he finally reached the door, he paused yet again.

Behind the door and on the risers sat Alya; her back facing the door; in front of her was Marinette, his princess, in all of her glory. A guitar was strapped around her narrow shoulders, her eyes closed as she played the beginning of the melody.

Adrien was mesmerized. He had never heard Marinette sing before; she was more than just good; she was amazing. She was entrancing.

Her voice was so sweet and soft and honestly he didn't know if he would ever be able to get it out of his head.

As she finished, the guitar ringing with a sweet major chord, the last note lingering on her tongue, Adrien found himself grasping to the sound of her voice throughout the entire song, and once it was too-soon over, he immediately wanted her to sing it again. Sing anything again. The song she had been singing he hadn't ever heard before. He would remember something so pretty. Or maybe it was just her. Maybe Marinette just made everything sound pretty.

You could practically _hear_ the smile on Alya's face when she spoke again.

"I cannot believe you _wrote_ that!" she exclaimed. Marinette blushed and smiled that adorable smile of hers.

That explained a lot to Adrien. Of course she wrote it. That's why it was so pretty; so sweet, so wonderful, so unforgettable. Just like her.

"Thanks," Marinette said a bit bashfully. She was embarrassed, and he had no idea why. She was amazing.

"Why have you never sang in front of people before? You're amazing!" Alya pressed. There was a pause before:

"I don't know. I guess I have stage fright? You're the only person who has ever heard that song besides my parents, actually." Marinette said with a chuckle.

Adrien's shoulders dropped. This was obviously not a song meant for his ears. And though he was strongly considering opening the door to make his presence apparent, now he most definitely would not.

But that didn't mean he regretted it. Not necessarily.

Once he made his way outside, a student whom he didn't know the name of was playing a song off of his phone. It was a song Adrien recognized, and even enjoyed when Alya had played it for him and Nino. But now, with Marinette's song echoing in his head, he couldn't help but notice how dull the song sounded to him.

He smiled. Yep, he was definitely falling for Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

x-x-x

The Parisian nights were getting longer as winter crept up on Ladybug. Marinette had never particularly disliked winter, however this year; she found it especially hard to get out of bed in the morning. It was even harder for her to wander the skies of Paris at night clad in nothing but a red and black spandex suit.

As she waited on top of the roof of a random building for Chat to arrive for their scheduled patrol, Marinette couldn't stop replaying the events of the prior afternoon.

She had played her song in front of someone.

It was different presenting it to her parents for the first time, as they had heard the process of her writing it over the past few months. They knew what to expect. They had heard her music before.

Oh, no; this was very different.

Alya was her best friend. They shared everything with each other (besides the fact that she was a superhero) so singing for her wasn't that big of a deal, right? Ladybug smiled at the memory of her best friend's reaction to hearing her song. She had been ecstatic.

She was so proud of this song. It had taken her about four months to write and it was the first one she had ever been confident enough in to share with someone else. She smiled out into the clear night sky. She was about ten minutes early anyways, and Chat was rarely early anyways – something of a very busy schedule.

She started singing.

Quietly, as it was late, but loud enough to be heard by someone listening; she sang her story.

She had sung a cappella before, of course, but there was something different about singing her own song, loud and proud, without any instrumental.

She had always hid within her guitar. The chords she always played slightly louder than necessary, as if to drown out her voice. But this was completely new to her. This performance, though it was only for herself, was raw. Her voice held an edge that was distinctly her own. The lyrics, the melody, all of this was entirely her own.

x-x-x

Chat, for the first time, was actually early. His night, much like his afternoon was completely free, and he used this time to catch up with Nino, and saunter around the park. Now it was much later, and darker, and infinitely colder. He jumped from roof top to roof to, in search of the building that corresponded to the one he agreed to meet Ladybug on.

Despite having almost seven hours to do, well, whatever, he still couldn't get Marinette's voice out of his head. Her voice was so distinct. So sweet. So _Marinette_. He was sure that by now he could pick her out of a sea of thousands.

As he approached the tall building, Ladybug standing with her back to him, he, for the third time today, paused. She was singing.

But she wasn't _just singing_.

She was singing _Marinette's song_.

She had _Marinette's voice_.

A million thoughts swirled through Adrien's head. First, how on earth did she know Marinette's song? She had mentioned before that she had only shared it with three people: her parents and Alya: none of which look even remotely like Ladybug. Secondly, unless Ladybug was _Ursula_ from _The Little Mermaid_ , there was no possible way for her to have the exact same singing voice as Marinette. _No possible way_. Adrien would recognize her voice anywhere.

Lastly, and probably most obviously, there was only one explanation to this situation: Marinette was Ladybug.

Ladybug was Marinette.

His princess and his lady were one in the same.

This was almost humorous to him. The two women whom had won his heart, whom he was so conflicted between, as they both seemed to have the same effect on him, were one in the same.

This was _perfect._

As she finished her beautiful melody, Chat had finished devising somewhat of a plan.

"That was beautiful, M'lady." He snuck up behind her, leaning over her shoulder. Ladybug squealed and spun to face him.

"w-w-wha-how? Chat?" she sputtered.

"Why didn't you tell me you could sing?" he pondered.

"I-I don't normally sing for other people." She trailed off nervously.

"Well you should, you're wonderful."

"Th-thanks." Was all she supplied. "No- no one has ever heard me sing before, not really."

"Really?" he questioned, "I seem to recall Alya being very happy to listen to your beautiful song." He smirked smugly. "You are incredible, Princess."

Ladybug's eyes grew in realization, her pink lips parting in surprise.

"How did you…?"

"I heard you, Mari," he explained, "this afternoon, at school. I was there. And I heard you singing, and you explaining that no one else had listened to your song before. And since you kept is so private, I couldn't fathom how Ladybug knew all the lyrics. There was only one explanation, Marinette." His smirk morphed into a genuine slime.

She was at a loss for words, he mouth opening and closing repeatedly, but she couldn't seem to form a sentence. Just when Adrien was about to speak again, she managed to find her voice.

"Who are you?" She breathed. "I know you go to my school, and I know you know Alya, but the only person I can think of who even remotely resembles you is…" she trailed off. Adrien's smile broadened.

"Adrien?" she whispered, hopeful, wondering.

"Hello, Mari." Was all Adrien could manage before a laugh full of happiness and comfort escaped his lips.

He had found her.

She had found him.

They found each other.

His transformation dropped with a flash of green and there he stood, his heart in his hands, in front of the girl who he had been trying to find for over two years.

And as she stood, staring into his eyes with those beautiful sapphire eyes, familiar, warm, comforting, he couldn't help but grab her around her waist and spin her around, his smile never wavering. When her feet were promptly placed back on the gravel of the rooftop, his arms not leaving her, she dropped her transformation, too.

And suddenly, they weren't famous superheroes.

They weren't crime fighting partners with a mission on their mind and an Akuma to capture.

They were two teenagers, standing on a rooftop, hopelessly in love.

"I finally found you, M'lady." He said wistfully. "I've been waiting for this day for years." And he had. For as long as he could remember, he had been searching for her, hoping to find the girl behind the mask. The girl he loved. It just so happens that it was the very girl who had gradually been winning his heart.

She laughed, and Adrien couldn't help but notice that it was the most beautiful sounding laugh he had ever heard. It was a laugh he had heard a thousand times before, but would never get enough of.

"I finally found you, mon Chaton."

He smiled as she stood on her toes and connected her lips to his.

Okay, so maybe she didn't regret telling Alya that she had finished her song.

x-x-x

 _ **So sorry that this took me so long to post, but I was at a writing convention until the 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **, and after that I was kind of all written out. I hope this was worth the wait.**_

 _ **Please review if you enjoyed. Or if you didn't.**_

 _ **I do not own the characters or the Miraculous Ladybug franchise, however, the content of this page belongs to user if-x-you-x-knew.**_


	4. The Fourth Sign

_**The Five Signs That You're in Love**_

 _ **The Fourth Sign**_

 _ **FOURTH: **__**The colour of her eyes is blue enough to drown in. She is turning you into a clichéd love-wrecked being. You're drowning, always sinking. Down, down, down.**_

x-x-x

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Post-unmasking, Ladrien/ Adrienette, Adrien sees a poster of Ladybug plastered across a billboard and can't help but stare. What he doesn't expect is for anyone to notice, but Marinette was always good at noticing. Especially when it came to Adrien.**_

x-x-x

Today had been what felt like one of the longest days of Adrien's life. Ever since school ended for winter holiday, his schedule had become impossibly more cramped. He had had a fitting early this morning (for Gabriel Agreste's winter collection) after which, he had Chinese tutoring, and of course, his weekly photoshoot which dragged on longer than any other activity of the day. It was getting darker; despite it still being fairly early in the evening, the streets were practically empty, probably because of the cold, and Adrien was on his was on his way to his girlfriend's house.

 _Girlfriend._

It still felt surreal to call Marinette his girlfriend. It was even more surreal that Marinette happened to be Ladybug.

Adrien smiled to himself, it really was a small world.

He tugged his coat tighter around himself, walking a little faster than he was before. Not only to escape the cold, but in anticipation to see Marinette again. They had been together for a little over two month now, and Adrien couldn't be happier. He couldn't remember the last time he was this _happy_. But that's just what Marinette did to him.

When they first got together, on that cold, late September night, they had kept things to themselves. At least until they could come up with a story to tell their friends that didn't include their superhero identities.

When Alya first found out, it was accidental. They shared a quick kiss behind the trophy case before classes started; undenounced to them that Alya was wandering the halls looking for the pair. She had squealed, the same squeal that had escaped her that day in the music room – one of the best days of Adrien's life – and demanded the two to tell her all of the details; which they would have, if the bell hadn't cut them off at that exact moment.

She had glared at them, "You got lucky this time," she had said, "But I will get answers."

And that she did. As soon as the bell rang to signal the beginning of lunch, she had demanded, none too quietly, that Marinette and Adrien tell her the exact time and place that they had become a couple. And that is how the entire class found out that they were exclusive.

Adrien turned the street corner, Marinette's family bakery coming into view, and Adrien smiled at the scent of baked goods and cinnamon coming from the brightly lit bakery at the end of the block. There were a string of colourful Christmas lights hung around the perimeter of the bakery, a warm yellow light shown through the front window.

But something caught Adrien's eye. Atop of a building that resided near Marinette's family bakery was a picture of Ladybug. She was smirking at the camera; her dark blue hair – held in its usual red ribbons – was blowing behind her. And Adrien found himself staring into the eyes of his girlfriend. It wasn't quite like looking at Ladybug. The picture couldn't depict the glow in her eyes that was only made for him. It also seemed as though the picture didn't capture the exact colour of her eyes. Granted, he figured nothing could capture the blue of Ladybug's eyes – of Marinette's eyes – they were deep and bright, and held a sparkle that Adrien would never forget.

Her eyes were blue enough to drown in, which he noticed even more since they got together (and he would be lying if he said he hadn't spent hours of his time thinking about her and her eyes.)

He found himself wanting to write poetry about her. Her eyes, her hair, her skin, her scent, to Adrien, her beauty was something that needed to be captured and immortalized. He chuckled and shook his head.

What was she doing to him? She was turning her into a clichéd love-wrecked being. And he really didn't mind. He looked back up at the billboard, and allowed himself to drown in her eyes again. He smiled again to himself, before remembering why he was out on the streets of Paris in the middle of winter.

He was about to turn around and venture the short journey to the Dupain-Cheng's house, when a sweet voice snapped his head.

"You know, I always found it weird whenever I saw my face on billboards." His girlfriend's voice rang in his ears. He smiled at the sight of her. He skin was pale, her nose and cheeks a little red,, and she wore nothing but some thin jeans, a simple t-shirt, and a light sweater over it. Her eyes held the glow they always did whenever he was around.

"What are you doing out here? Aren't you cold?" he asked concerned, taking her into his arms. She was cold. He frowned.

"I'm fine, Chaton," she reassured, but still nuzzled into his chest.

"Oh, I'm sure you are. What are you doing out here?" he repeated.

"I saw you and I thought you might want some company. Mama and Papa were getting worried, they were expecting you at five." She explained.

"Sorry, love. I got distracted." He gestured toward the billboard.

"By my face?" she questioned sheepishly.

"By you, yes." he answered quickly, hugging her tighter. "C'mon," he mumbled, kissing the top of her head, "Your parents are waiting for us."

x-x-x

"What are your plans for the Holidays, Adrien?" Sabine politely asked over dinner. He was sat next to Marinette, Sabine across from them, and Tom at the head of the table.

"Oh, well, my father doesn't really like to celebrate…anything really. So I don't have any plans." He explained tentatively.

"Oh," Sabine exclaimed, evidently surprised, "Well, you are always welcome to celebrate here." She invited.

"You're always welcome here." Tom clarified, "Holidays included."

"I'm sure Marinette would love that." Sabine smiled at her daughter who blushed deeply at her mother's comment.

"Mama…" Marinette mumbled.

"That would be wonderful, actually. Thank you so much!" Adrien smiled, taking his girlfriend's hand under the table. Giving her hand a squeeze. Marinette's blushed deepened.

x-x-x

 _ **And that's chapter four. Thank you very much for reading. Chapter five will be arriving shortly.**_

 _ **Please review if you enjoyed. Or if you didn't.**_

 _ **I do not own the characters or the Miraculous Ladybug franchise, however, the content of this page belongs to user if-x-you-x-knew.**_


	5. The Fifth Sign

_Please read the note at the bottom._

 _ **The Five Signs That You're in Love**_

 _ **The Fifth Sign**_

 _ **FIFTH:**_ _ **you know her. You love her. Through a thousand lifetimes, across millions of stars, you'd find her, you'd never leave her. You love her.**_

x-x-x

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Post-unmasking, Adrienette. It's graduation day and Marinette couldn't be happier. Come next fall, she would be working as an intern of Gabriel Agreste. But there is one thing that had been bothering her ever since Adrien had told her that he was to be modeling in America for three months (With countless other drop-dead beautiful modes) while she stayed at home in Paris. Something she would never let Adrien know about, of course.**_

x-x-x

"Ladies and Gentlemen, The Graduating class of 201x," _**(please forgive me, I have no idea what year they graduate)**_

The sea of parents and friends of the students erupted into a roar of cheers and applause.

Marinette smiled and happily looked over her shoulder at her best friend. Alya looked as happy as Marinette felt. She smiled back at her bluenette friend and gave her a thumbs-up. Marinette couldn't help but giggle.

When they were finally ushered outside, Marinette was immediately surrounded by her parents.

"My baby is all grown up." Sabine stated her voice soft as she enveloped Marinette in a hug.

"Naw," her father dismissed, placing his hand on Marinette's shoulder. "She's still my baby girl." He flashed her a tight-lipped smile but Marinette could tell he was fighting back tears. Sabine stepped back from her daughter to stand next to her husband and smiled at her daughter with so much love and pride.

"I'll always be your baby girl, even if I am taller than you," the last part directed at her mother. She could only dream of being taller than her father. Her mother nudged her playfully, but Marinette could tell that she was too happy actually be angry at her comment.

Next Autumn, Marinette would be working aside her boyfriend's father as an intern at one of his design firms, as well as studying fashion design at a school just outside of Paris. She was completely over the moon to be able to pursue her passion.

"I'll be your model, Princess." Adrien had said to her after she had told him she was to be working with his father come the Fall, a distinctly Chat-like smirk on his face. Marinette just rolled her eyes at him, smiling despite herself.

"What? You don't want to dress me up?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively, his eyes shining with amusement and love.

"Gross." Marinette muttered, scrunching her nose up in disgust.

Adrien laughed, " _Mew-_ ouch."

Adrien was going to continue modeling with his father's company. Or at least that's what she had thought.

"Hey Mari, can I talk to you?" Adrien scratched the back of his head while standing awkwardly in the doorway of his girlfriend's bedroom.

"Sure…" Marinette' voice held an edge of unease. That was a telling sign that he was nervous.

"Well you know how my father wanted me to model his new line right? The one that's been in the works for like a year now; well I decided to do it."

"That wonderful, Adrien, now we can work together!" Marinette's face broke into a massive smile, but Adrien still looked worried. "What is it, Adrien?" Marinette expression slowly fell into that of concern.

"The line isn't, um, going to be shot here, in Paris I mean. It's going to be shot in..." he dragged out the "n".

"In…?" Marinette urged him.

"America." he finally finished.

"America?" She echoed blankly. "For how long?"

"Three months if all goes to plan." Adrien replied, his hands running madly across the back of his head.

Marinette had had plenty of time to contemplate what would happen to them after he left. Or rather what would happen to _him_. Marinette was no stranger to the film industry, and though she knew things that happened in film were not exactly the most accurate representation of long distance relationships, she knew the modeling industry like the back of her hand. And she knew that Gabriel Agreste's new line also included many items that would, hopefully, appeal to women. Which meant Adrien would be the gorgeous blonde French model in a room full of American models; tall, beautiful, most likely smart models that would be fawning all over the new model from France.

How could she compare to that?

She had seen the movies. She knew all about what happens to the old girlfriend once the guy goes to study abroad or travel for a business deal. The guy finds a new girl, falls in love, and no matter how valid the girlfriends arguments are, they're always seen as the villain who get in the way of the happily ever after.

Okay, so maybe she had watched too many movies about this topic. But it's not like you could blame the girl for being a little worried.

But Adrien, for the first time in a long time, was happy. And there was no way she would get in the way of that.

An unmistakable laugh came from behind Marinette and it wasn't long before she was tackled in a bone crushing hug from Alya.

"We did it, Mari! We graduated!" Alya exclaimed, her eyes bright and shining. Come September, Alya was to study journalism at a fancy well known school in central Paris.

"Can't… breathe…" Marinette chocked, willing her friend to pull away.

"Oh right, sorry." Alya said rather sheepishly, unwrapping her arms from around Marinette's rib cage. "Good to see you again Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng!" Alya said happily to Marinette's parents. To which her mother smiled.

"You, too honey. I hope you'll come over again and maybe work another shift?"

"I would love to! Making pastries is actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be."

Her mother's smile grew.

"There you are," Nino's face emerged from the crowd and he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist.

"Hey, nerd," Alya said lovingly, grasping one of his hands, which was still around her waist, in her own. Nino, unlike the others, was going to study music and performance at an arts school in Toulouse. He was aspiring to become a DJ, and from Marinette knew, he was pretty good.

"Marinette," her father spoke, "your mother and I need get back to the bakery, it opens in an hour and we still have an order to complete."

"Okay, papa, I'll see you tonight." Marinette gave both her parents one more hug before they disappeared around the block.

"Mari, can I talk to you?" a voice she knew too well came from beside her, Adrien's voice.

"Yeah, of course," she replied turning around, and suddenly the most interesting things in the world were her shoes. Adrien sighed, gently grabbing her arm. "We'll be right back," he shouted over his shoulder to their best friends. Marinette followed him into around the side of the school building where he abruptly stopped, making her run into his chest, where he held her, his hands against her hips.

"Mari, talk to me, something's wrong. And don't tell me that it's nothing, because I know that's a lie." Marinette clenched her fists. He was on to her.

"I- well – I – um the thing is- well – I," Marinette sighed. There was no easy way to say this.

"Just tell me, Mari," Adrien reassured, tilting her head up to meet his eyes, "please." He pleaded.

"It's gonna sound stupid," she mumbled.

"Please, Princess," Adrien persisted.

"I just…" she took a deep breath before rushing through all the things in her mind. "There are so many things going on next year and everything is so exciting; I mean I get to work with your dad and design and study fashion, something I've been aspiring to do for, well forever. But anyways, it's just that I know what happens to relationships after one of the two leave for a long period of time. Especially when the one leaving is a freaking _model;_ what do you expect to happen? You'll be in a room full of models who are fawning over you, I mean look at you, you're gorgeous, and me? I'll be back here in Paris behind the scenes of your industry working my ass off to try and build my name in the fashion world and interning with one of the biggest designers in Paris and I just don't have time to worry about you finding another girl to fall in love with, and god dammit I'm just so scared!"

When she finished her long speech, her fists were clenched and she turned away from Adrien to hide her embarrassed expression. His hands fell from her hips where they were previously planted.

Adrien stood and stared in complete confusion. Did she really think he would just leave and find someone else whom he loved as much as her? She was his Lady, his Princess, how could he ever find someone even remotely as perfect as her?

"I'm sorry I didn't want to burden you with this, I swear. It's just you seemed so happy to be going to America; I didn't want to ruin that for you." Marinette said to the concrete at her feet.

"Mari, there's nothing to worry about. I only have eyes for you. It's only ever been you. It'll only ever be you." Adrien said honestly. Still, she would not look up at him. He sighed. "Mari, I love you." No turning back now. He had wanted this confession to be something extravagant and romantic. Maybe take her to the Eiffel Tower and tell her there, take her out to dinner before telling her how he truly felt about her. Though he suspected she already knew. "Of course I hoped this moment would be ever so much more romantic when I told you this… but I just needed you to hear that." He said with his heart in his hands.

Marinette was in awe. Sure, he had called her "Love" before, and he had even admitted it to her while she was half asleep, but this was the first time where he actually said it with the intention of it being heard by her. She slowly turned her head to look at the boy in front of her, her mouth agape.

He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "It's true, Mari. I love you. Through a thousand lifetimes, across millions of stars, I'd find you. I'd never leave you." He took her hand in his own, pressing it to his chest, just above his heart. She could feel it pulsing quickly under her fingers, beneath his rib cage, pulsing against the porcelain skin of her delicate fingertips; calloused and battered from years of baking and using her yo yo, and she knew he was telling the truth.

 _I love you, too_ she wanted to tell him, but her voice got caught in her throat, her lips unwilling to part. So instead, she kissed him.

x-x-x

 _ **Hey, sorry for the delay but it's the end of the school year and anyone who has been to or is still in school will understand the horror of the end of the school year in high school. I had three finals over the last month and an exam next week so I've been busy.**_

 _ **But alas, I need your help.**_

 _ **So you probably already know but in the last chapter, I was building it up around the holiday season. Now, when I was writing said chapter, I was very, and I mean**_ _ **very**_ _ **inspired by the holidays, but things have changed! (You can't blame me for being inspired by grad can you? I mean it's June)**_

 _ **I digress;**_ _ **I want to know if you want me to write a separate one-shot after this story is finished about these two dorks during the Holiday season. So it will be set between chapter 4 and 5 in this story.**_

 _ **So leave a review or PM me if you would be interested in reading that.**_

 _ **I do not own the characters or the Miraculous Ladybug franchise, however, the content of this page belongs to user if-x-you-x-knew.**_


	6. The One Sign That She Loves You, Too

_**The Five Signs That You're in Love**_

 _ **The One Sign That She Loves You, Too**_

 _ **Post-unmasking, Adrienette. So far, Adrien had been the only one to say "I love you". Not that Marinette didn't love him back, but every time she's tried to tell him that, her words betrayed her. She needed to change that.**_

x-x-x

Who ever said that distance makes the heart fonder was an idiot.

120,960. That's how many minutes had passed since Adrien had left for his summer modeling job in America.

4,320. That's how many minutes will have to pass before he comes home.

Summer had been even busier than Marinette had anticipated. Without Chat Noir around to help her protect Paris, days seemed to become longer, work seemed to take longer to complete, not to mention the inevitable increase of activity and orders for her family bakery. All of that while still maintaining a social life and a long distance relationship had left Marinette exhausted.

Marinette soon realized that her worries about Adrien had been for naught. He had made the effort to call or video chat her every day, despite the nine hour time difference. For that Marinette was incredibly grateful.

Of course this modeling gig had done wonders for Adrien's international career, and Marinette couldn't have been prouder. He was becoming incredibly successful and Marinette hoped to closely follow in his footsteps.

Whilst he was away, she had had a lot of time to think about their relationship. There was one thing that was bothering her. The fact that she had never told him she loved him. She knew she did. It became blatantly obvious while he was in America. But he deserved an in-person "I love you." And she was determined to tell him that as soon as he came home.

4,320 minutes.

Three days.

Three excruciatingly long days.

But she would survive. She had thus far.

She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she missed him more than she was letting on. She had spent an embarrassingly large amount of time thinking about her boyfriend. His messy hair; which never seemed to be tamed, even when he was transformed. His long fingers that used to stroke her cheeks until she smiled. His chest that she certainly had not secretly stared at when she was taking his measurements for a shirt she was making him. And his mouth, god, his mouth, the perfect curve of his upper lip, the bright hue of pink of his lower lip-

-And the side of his mouth, which was curving up at her…

Marinette shook her head to make sure she wasn't dreaming, never once taking her eyes off of him, just encase he might vanish if she looked away.

"Adrien?" Her voice was nothing above a whisper.

"Good Morning, Love."

She let out a shaky breath. She had just opened up shop, as Alya was running a bit late for her eight am shift, and standing right in front of her, across the counter, was Adrien Agreste. She let out a sound between a cry and a laugh and ran around the counter into his open arms.

"I missed you," He whispered into her hair; his arms around her waist, as she gripped the back of his hair.

"I missed you, too," she whispered back, because that was all she could manage. "I thought you didn't come back until the twenty-sixth," she said breathlessly. He places his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up towards his.

"My last shoot was canceled, so I got to come home to you." He chuckled. Her smile was brighter than the bright open sign that shone into the bakery as Alya opened the door and entered the small shop.

x-x-x

"So, you're internship starts on the seventh?" Adrien and Marinette were sat on a bench at the park. It was around mid-day now, and the pair had been sat here for the past four hours talking about all the things that had happened in the past three months.

"Adrien," she said abruptly, sitting up straight and turning her body to look directly at her boyfriend. "I need to tell you something."

"Okay…" his voice trailed off as he held the "A".

She took a deep breathe before stating, loud and proud for the entire park to hear (or maybe just the lady walking her dog passed their bench, but that was a minor detail,) "I love you."

She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for him to respond.

The next ten (which honestly felt like one hundred) seconds of silence were the longest seconds of her life. Adrien's mouth was a gape at the abrupt love confession from the bluenette across from him who wouldn't open her eyes.

"Mari, please look at me," he said, grasping her hand in his own. She opened her eyes, blinking slowly, but he didn't miss how her fingers twitched slightly when he squeezed her hand gently. Sure their lives were going to take a turn. And maybe things would never be the same again. His career was taking off and she was about to start working for one of the most famous fashion designers in France. Not to mention the fact that the two of them were constantly putting themselves in harm's way to save the city and citizens of Paris. But love was patient. And love was worth fighting for. Especially a love like theirs.

For the first time in his life, Adrien realized just how in love he really was.

"Marinette, When you touch me, I light on fire." He wanted to say, "My wrists blaze where your fingers meet my skin; you shine brighter than the sun. You're too beautiful for my eyes. It's hard to look at you. It's even harder to look away; my ears are turned to your voice. I could pick you out in a sea of thousands; the colour of your eyes is blue enough to drown in. Through a thousand lifetimes, across millions of stars, I'd find you, I'd never leave you. I love you." He opened his mouth in hopes of voicing these thoughts, but all that came out was a rush of air that he had trapped in his lungs after hearing her tell him she loved him for the first time. so he settled for the simplest reiteration of his declaration.

"I love you, too."

x-x-x

 _ **Oh boy. That's all folks. I hope you enjoyed this little story. I'm sorry it took me like seven months to finish.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please do review if you did. Or if you didn't.**_

 _ **I'm kind of sad to see this story go, but there is always more miraculous fanfiction ideas swarming my brain that I can't wait to share with you guys.**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **I do not own the characters or the Miraculous Ladybug franchise, however, the content of this page belongs to user if-x-you-x-knew.**_


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